Reality star Kim Kardashian got what’s called a vampire facelift on national television. To some it looks gruesome, but many others, like 52-year-old Annie Cefaratti, were intrigued.

“My friends call me Morticia now,” Cefaratti says.

The vampire facelift, or blood facial, is a cosmetic procedure in which a doctor draws blood from the patient’s arm and then uses a centrifuge to separate plasma and platelets from red blood cells. The doctor then injects the gold-colored, platelet-rich plasma into the patient’s face.

Some say they prefer the method over anything synthetic.

“That’s very appealing,” says Annie. “It’s a little less frightening in terms of down the road when I’m 80. What’s going to happen to all the stuff that I’ve put on my face already?”

Doctor Soheila Rostami is one of the few local cosmetic doctors performing the vampire facelift. While there’s no concrete science behind it, she says some studies show that injecting a person’s own growth factors back into their skin stimulates the production of more collagen.

“The growth factors stimulate the cells to regenerate so you’re regenerating or recreating the newer skin that you used to have,” she says.

Dr. Rostami is quick to explain that the procedure seen on Kardashian’s reality show isn’t how it’s usually performed. At her office there’s no bloody face and she uses a topical numbing cream to lessen pain.